Ørsted A/S acquired a 22.5% stake in Pict Offshore Ltd., the Scottish developer with a new operations and maintenance technology for offshore wind turbines.
The system, known as Get Up Safe, allows technicians to be safely hoisted up to the turbine base directly from a boat, instead of stepping onto a ladder from a moving boat and climbing to the base of the turbine, according to a Sept. 23 release.
The system's motion compensation automatically adjusts the line position according to the boat's movements to keep technicians from bumping into the boat. It also eliminates the need for external ladders.
The technology is a more efficient, safe and cost-effective way to transfer technicians onto offshore wind turbines, said Mark Porter, senior vice president for offshore operations at Ørsted.
Pict Offshore has a patent for the technology, which is in the final stages of development. More than 1,600 hoists have been carried out at Ørsted sites as part of the testing process. Models of the system have also been tested at the 7-MW Levenmouth demonstration turbine in Scotland since 2017.
